Underprepared students often need assistance building writing skills and maintaining confidence in their abilities and potential. The authors share the philosophy, pedagogy, and experience of freshman developmental education and the writing center at a four-year, private, not-for-profit urban college. They describe high-impact educational…

The author, a student adviser in a Student Support Services (TRIO) program, took an introductory psychology course in order to study students' note-taking behaviors. The most important finding was that students copied the terminology the instructor wrote on the board, but failed to take notes on the examples he used to clarify the terms.…